Hand to person transfer of pathogenic organisms due to poor hand hygiene is a well-documented in the medical literature and results in thousands of deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars of health care expense each year. There are recognized problems associated with hand hygiene documented in hospitals, nursing homes, day-care facilities, dental offices, the food service industry, etc.
In 2005 the World Health Organization launched its first Global Patient Safety Challenge, focusing on the importance of hand hygiene. Hospital acquired infections occur in an estimated 5 to 10% of hospitalized patients and results in prolonged hospital stays, deaths and hundreds of millions of health care dollars each year. Proper hand hygiene has been recognized as the single most important element to control infection rates in all types of care facilities across all age groups. Multiple studies have shown that consistent hand washing or sanitizing hygiene compliance is low.
An important element of hand hygiene practice is the correct application of single use, non-sterile gloves, which can reduce the spread of pathogenic organisms. Unfortunately studies have demonstrated the presence of bacteria on unused gloves in open boxes, which are commonly used in all settings where non-sterile gloves are worn. Common skin bacteria and pathogenic bacteria were cultured from the glove surfaces, indicating that the non-sterile gloves may be a potential source of bacteria transmission in the health care setting. The method of boxing and retrieving the glove may be responsible for the contamination of the glove surface.
Norovirus is the leading cause of gastroenteritis and foodborne disease in the US, causing an estimated 56,000 to 71,000 hospitalizations and 570-800 deaths annually. Other recognized pathogens on food service personnel include Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp. and coliform bacteria. Transmission is mainly fecal-oral route. Up to 46% of gloved samples tested in one study in the fast food setting showed bacterial contamination and a separate study showed that norovirus contaminated gloves transmitted virus to food servings more readily than a contaminated cucumber. The observed tendency of food workers to wear gloves for an extended period of time has been felt to be one of the potential failure of gloves to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination.
The Food and Drug Association (FDA) 2001 Food Code, section 3-301.11 states, “Except when washing fruits and vegetables, food employees may not contact exposed ready to eat foods with their bare hands and should use suitable utensils . . . and single use gloves.”
Regardless of the setting where non-sterile, one time use gloves are used there is a significant risk of contamination of the glove surface occurring when the glove is removed from a box or other dispenser.
There are a number of problems associated with protective gloves. One serious problem is that protective gloves are sold in paper boxes that are open on the top surface through a central oval shaped opening, the same configuration seen with tissue dispensers. When a glove is taken from the box it is grasped through the opening. Virtually all glove boxes present the glove so it is removed from the box by grasping the glove from the working surface that includes the base of the fingers and the palm. The cuff of the glove is not visible from most all glove boxes. It is common that more than one glove is grasped at a time so the gloves are held by the working surface until they can be put on. Often more than two gloves are grasped and the third or fourth glove removed from the box is pushed back into the box. The remaining gloves are now potentially contaminated by the person currently putting on the gloves and will receive further direct hand contact contamination by the next person removing a pair of gloves. Each pair of gloves removed from the open box, may have received surface contamination from two persons, prior to being used for direct patient care or food preparation.
Another problem is that protective gloves are kept in open boxes on a wall dispenser or on a counter by the wash sink. Further contamination by bacteria and viruses from the surrounding environment is possible by airborne, respiratory borne or splash contamination from the hand washing area which may include blood, tissue and other medical related fluids or food fluids or cleaning fluids, etc.
Another problem is that even for the most diligent and motivated health care workers, it is not possible to easily grasp gloves one at a time from the non-working surface. In the busy flow of a typical patient care unit gloves are grasped as one walks into the room and put on while moving toward the patient with the working surface of the glove coming into contact with bare hands. In those instances where hand hygiene is not performed according to accepted standards, patient to care giver to patient pathogen transmission is possible.
Another problem is that food industry studies have shown that hands or protective gloves contaminated with Norovirus can transmit the virus to the working surface of other protective gloves and then to the food being handled.
Another problem is that different areas of food preparation require frequent glove changes, depending on the specific duty. Many of the individuals involved in the food service industry work part-time and may have limited levels of education. Understanding the importance of hand hygiene and glove wearing procedures are often discounted leading to poor compliance rates and increased risk of transmission of food borne pathogens.
Another problem is that ongoing monitoring and correcting non-compliant behavior requires direct observation and intervention, a process that is not practical on an ongoing basis in all lines of health and food service industries.
There have been attempts to solve some of the problems associated with dispensing gloves and protective gloves.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,186,012, that issued to Rogers, et al. teaches “The glove dispensing device enables the placement of a glove on a glove retainer. The placement of the glove on the glove retainer at least partially seals the glove with the glove retainer. The user activates a vacuum that draws the glove into a housing of the glove dispensing device. The vacuum inverts the glove thus opening the glove to allow placement of the user's hand within the glove. The user may then remove his hand with the glove from the glove retainer. To assist with removing the glove from the glove retainer, the glove dispensing device provides a release toggle stored within the glove retainer. The user adjusts the release toggle to break the seal of the glove with the glove retainer. Breaking the seal overcomes the pressure applied to the glove from the vacuum. Thus, the glove is applied to the user's hand and ready for use.”
U.S. Pat. No. 9,078,647, that issued to Dennison, et al., teaches the following: A disposable glove dispensing system may allow for a user to efficiently put on a disposable glove without touching the outside of the glove. In various embodiments, a disposable glove may comprise an opening for hand entry having a first opening edge and a second opening edge, a first interconnection point located near the first opening edge, where the first interconnection point attaches the disposable glove to a first adjacent disposable glove, and a second interconnection point located near the second opening edge. The second interconnection point may attach the disposable glove to a second adjacent disposable glove, wherein the disposable glove is positioned between the first adjacent disposable glove and the second adjacent disposable glove. Furthermore, a disposable glove dispensing system may comprise a pack of interconnected disposable gloves, and a glove dispenser comprising two glove hangers for hanging the pack of disposable gloves hang.”
U.S. Pat. No. 9,003,314 that issued to Cohen teaches “A dispenser is disclosed for flat items such as disposable gloves that are contained within a dispensing bag that has an at least partially-open front side. The dispenser includes a base that has a rear wall and a pair of opposing side walls. A non-opaque cover with a dispensing aperture there through is pivotally fixed between each side wall and adapted to swing between an open and a closed position. At least one elastic cord is stretched between each side wall to urge the dispensing bag towards the cover when the cover is in the closed position and the dispensing bag is between the cover and the at least one elastic cord. The front side of the dispensing bag may be non-opaque and open at a dispensing bag aperture there through, a temporary adhesive being fixed proximate a periphery of the dispensing bag aperture.”
U.S. Pat. No. 8,684,226, that issued to Lien teaches “A glove dispensing assembly includes a stack of interfolded gloves. In particular, the gloves are folded in an S-like arrangement including a first fold and a second fold. The finger portion of a leading glove is folded in between a cuff portion and an intermediate portion of a subsequent glove. The manner in which the gloves are folded allows for the gloves to be dispensed in a perpendicular direction or a lateral direction.”
U.S. Pat. No. 8,132,692, that issued to Jordan teaches “A method of interfolding gloves including superposing finger portion of second glove adjacent finger portion of first glove, with second glove finger portion being disposed parallel and in a direction opposite the first glove finger portion, in a superjacent opposing relationship. First glove hand and cuff are lapped over second glove finger to create lapped, superjacent opposing fold. By repeatedly lapping previous glove hand over subsequent glove fingers, a glove bundle is formed. Folding can be longitudinal before lapped, superjacent opposing folding. Gloves are disposed in portable dispenser with lapped, superjacent folding and dispensing opening cooperating to dispense one glove, cuff first.”
U.S. Pat. No. 8,061,558, that issued to Jordan, et al. teaches “gloves and dispensers for gloves are generally discussed herein with particular discussions extended to disposable gloves packaged in a disposable dispenser configured to engage with a carrier. Aspects of the glove assemblies provided herein include a dispenser case having a flange having locking tab for sliding engagement with a channel on the carrier. The dispenser case may be removed from the carrier and a new dispenser case engaged to the carrier.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,874,455, that issued to Jordan, et al. teaches “Gloves and dispensers for gloves are generally discussed herein with particular discussions extended to disposable gloves packaged in a disposable dispenser configured to engage with a carrier. Aspects of the glove assemblies provided herein include a dispenser case having a flange having locking tab for sliding engagement with a channel on the carrier. The dispenser case may be removed from the carrier and a new dispenser case engaged to the carrier.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,731,056, that issued to Tramontina teaches “A dispenser for dispensing gloves is provided which includes a housing having an exit port, the housing also formed to include a compartment which is configured to hold a plurality of gloves therein. The dispenser includes a glove pusher movably coupled to the housing. At least a portion of the glove pusher is configured to move within the compartment of the housing and push at least a portion of a glove disposed in the compartment through the exit port. A cartridge configured to be disposed into a compartment of a dispenser is disclosed. The cartridge is formed to permit a portion of a dispenser to move into the internal compartment of the cartridge to move at least one of the plurality of gloves at least partially through the at least one opening in the cartridge. A dispensing assembly also may include a stack of gloves or a cartridge containing a plurality of gloves. A method of using a glove dispenser is also provided.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,635,067, that issued to Flynn teaches “A glove dispensing system includes glove bearing sheets and a glove opening mechanism. In use, the glove dispensing system opens a cuff end of the gloves carried by the glove bearing sheets and presents the open gloves to a user. As such, the glove dispensing system provides the user with a substantially sterile glove in a manner that allows the user to easily don the gloves while limiting a risk of the user contaminating an exterior surface of the glove by touching with his hands or other body parts. In one arrangement, the gloves are integrally formed as part of the glove bearing sheets, such as by a heat-sealing process. The gloves can include coupling mechanism that secures the gloves to the glove bearing sheets and that allows ease of removal of the gloves from the glove bearing sheets after being donned by the user by a user.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,223, that issued to Jordan et al., teaches “A method of interfolding gloves including superposing finger portion of second glove adjacent finger portion of first glove, with second glove finger portion being disposed parallel and in a direction opposite the first glove finger portion, in a superjacent opposing relationship. First glove hand and cuff are lapped over second glove finger, to create lapped, superjacent opposing fold. By repeatedly lapping previous glove hand over subsequent glove fingers, a glove bundle is formed. Folding can be longitudinal before lapped, superjacent opposing folding. Gloves are disposed in portable dispenser with lapped, superjacent folding and dispensing opening cooperating to dispense one glove, cuff first.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,953,130, that issued to Corbett teaches “An Improved Glove Dispenser is disclosed. The disclosed dispenser will automatically open a pair of standard disposable gloves in response to a user request, preferably by voice. The dispenser further includes a shuttle assembly that will retrieve and position a pair of gloves for donning. The preferred dispenser will accept glove cartridges that can be loaded into the dispenser without being touched by the hands of the person installing the cartridges. In other embodiments of the disclosed dispenser, there is the capability to provide two or more different-sized or configured gloves for donning by users. The preferred dispenser further includes an embodiment whereby the gloves are inflated prior to being donned, in order to further assist the user in donning the gloves. The preferred dispenser further includes a glove donning rack assembly that has a unique glove release assembly for releasing gloves onto hands inserted into them when desired.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,753, that issued to Kurtz et al., teaches the following: “A disposable glove dispenser bracket includes a back panel with a magnetic pad attached thereto for supporting the dispenser and lateral side panels with flanges to grip and hold a glove dispenser box. A biasing spring maintains the glove dispenser box appropriately positioned within the dispenser bracket.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,841, that issued to Baughman teaches “Glove dispenser having a back plate, a cover, a angled rack for securing a pre-packaged box of gloves within the device at an angle with respect to the back plate, and an aperture in the cover through which gloves can be dispensed at an ergonomic angle.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,642, that issued to Milliorn teaches “The present invention is directed to a glove dispenser system that includes a reusable container and a disposable pouch containing stacked, partially folded gloves. The container is rigid and generally rectangular and has a lid and a bottom, spaced, parallel front and back walls, two spaced, parallel side walls and an opening in the lid. The pouch is generally rectangular shaped and it has a pair of spaced parallel extending faces yieldably connected to one another. One of the faces has an opening aligned with the opening in the lid of the container. The pouch contains a plurality of gloves in a stacked folded relationship with one another. The folded relationship being formed by a thumb of the glove being folded under a palm area of the glove and fingers of the glove being folded over the thumb and the palm area. The configuration of the pouch opening and the folded relationship of the gloves provides for the removal of one of the plurality of glove at a time during a dispensing procedure.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,034, that issued to Corbett teaches “An Improved Glove Dispenser is disclosed. Also disclosed is a device that permits a user to don gloves without first touching their exterior. The disclosed device includes a plurality of gloves attached by their cuffs to a filament, with the filament and cuffs being dispensed from an exchangeable glove cartridge. It is a further feature that the dispenser may be responsive to a user's voice. Furthermore, the invention provides a new method for donning gloves that will prevent user contamination of the gloves by touching the exterior of the gloves during the donning process.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,241, that issued to Marley teaches “A glove dispensing device comprising a cabinet which is designed to be permanently affixed to a wall for dispensing gloves from the glove boxes stored within the cabinet. The cabinet of the glove dispensing device includes a housing and a cover swingably mounted to the housing to allow glove boxes to be inserted into the housing. The cover is provided with a sliding window which opens to permit removal of one glove at a time while closing the sliding window protects the remaining gloves from contaminants and pollutants from the surrounding environment.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,380, that issued to Sherrod teaches “This invention is an electronically sanitized medical glove dispensing machine. Not only does the machine place the warm gloves on your hands, it also takes them off and disposes of them in a sanitary way, such as a biohazard bag. The apparatus works via a compressor and a circuit board, along with sensors, “gripper clips”, small air hoses, latex gloves, and a stainless steel housing. The sanitized glove is inflated so the hand can be placed in the glove before usage. A hook grips the gloves after the medical worker is finished with them, removes them, and sanitizes them.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,920 that issued to Aldape teaches “Emergency and other personnel needing gloves can retrieve them easily for donning using a glove and hand protectant dispenser. The dispenser includes a backboard having at least one detachable glove dispenser member disposed proximate a first edge of the backboard; and at least one detachable hand protectant disposer proximate a second edge of the backboard.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,919, that issued to Kelly teaches “The present invention relates to an improved dispenser for sanitary gloves. The dispenser comprises a rectangular enclosure having a top, bottom, left and right side walls, front and back, for receiving individually packaged sanitary gloves. The front is permanently joined to the top, bottom, left and back, while the right side wall is pivotally attached to the bottom wall. The front contains an opening near the top for dispensing the sanitary gloves one at a time. A window near the bottom portion of the front is used to visually inspect the quantity of gloves remaining in the dispenser at any given time.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,741 that issued to Klecina teaches “The instant invention provides an article of manufacture that includes: a generally flat planar stacked pad of at least two contiguously supertransposed disposable plastic gloves, each having a generally straight perforated weakened tear line above and generally transverse to the wrist portion of each of the gloves; and, a heat fused portion of the pad substantially adjacent to the perforated weakened tear line opposite the gloves sufficient to produce a substantially rigid single layer of plastic. The substantially rigid single layer further includes: an arrangement for mounting the article on a surface selected from the group consisting of a hole formed through the substantially rigid single layer, double sided adhesive pads mounted on the substantially rigid single layer or the combination of a hole and double sided adhesive pads; and, a label including printed indicia affixed to it.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,534 that issued to Hollander et al. teaches “A dispenser for a stack of thin, disposable gloves wherein the gloves are placed within a box-like housing. Included within the housing is a biasing means which presses against the stack of gloves directly adjacent the access opening into the gloves. Each uppermost glove in the stack includes a spot of adhesive which is to connect with the directly underneath glove with this spot being located directly adjacent this access opening. Included within the box-like housing is a dispensing opening with the uppermost glove to partially protrude from this dispensing opening. The users hand is to be inserted into the glove with the glove then being extracted with the adhesive functioning to partially dispense the next glove in the stack of gloves and locate that in a position facilitating connection with a human hand.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,909, that issued to Rogow, teaches the following: “A glove dispenser including a glove dispensing housing. Further provided is a plurality of rods extending between side faces of the housing. A pair of gloves are releasably coupled adjacent an opening thereof between each rod. Finally, a dispensing mechanism is situated within the housing for allowing the dispensing of the gloves.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,440, that issued to Shields, et al. teaches “Containers for sterile gloves having long cuffs folding over the palms, leaving the fingers exposed beyond, are disclosed such that, upon opening, only the crease of each long cuff/palm overfold can be manually grasped. In one preferred embodiment, sterile containers initially covered with removable film are designed with single openings covered by slit film to dispense multiple surgical or examination gloves. Inside the containers, the overfolded cuffs of successive gloves are folded under the flexed fingers of the first and every succeeding glove, such that the user can serially extract externally sterile gloves by grasping the crease of each long cuff/palm overfold. One bare hand grasps the crease to glove the other. Then, the ungloved hand grasps the crease of the next glove, such that the fingers of the gloved hand can be inserted under the cuff/palm overfold to glove the bare hand. As results, the external surfaces of each extracted glove are never touched by a bare finger or any other contaminated object before use on a patient. Such containers can dispense specified numbers of examination or surgical gloves. In another embodiment, multiple pairs of surgical or examination gloves, each pair with thumbs apposed toward the palms, can be dispensed with the palms touching in separate sterile envelopes, each of which unseals to expose only the creases of the cuff overfolds. Such sterile envelopes can be boxed separately or in rolls from which each package is easily separated.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,620, that issued to Kelliher, et al. teaches “A dispenser for gloves comprising a tubular body having a first end and a second end and having a spring disposed therein. The spring is secured to a moveable disc shaped member. A flexible mammillated shaped element having a first end and a second end is secured to the disc shaped member at the first end and secures a plurality of gloves therein. The second end of the mammillated member is secured to the second end of said tubular body. A top element which slideably fits over the second end of the tubular body has an opening therein and a diaphragm element having an aperture therein is secured over said opening. The spring urges the disc shaped member against the flexible mammillated shaped member containing the gloves allowing removal of one glove at a time from the aperture in the diaphragm element.”
U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,942 that issued to Fischer, et al. teaches “A glove dispenser comprising a case and a clip fastened to the case. The case has an open position and a closed position. A belt loop is formed on the back surface of the case so as to allow the case to be attached to a belt. The clip is fastened to the case so as to receive the cuff of a glove. The case comprises a back panel, and a connector on the back panel for releasably affixing the front panel in close proximity to the back panel. The clip is interposed between the back panel and the front panel. The clip is a member having a first portion affixed to the case and a second portion in torsional abutment with the first portion. The front panel includes a pocket formed therein for the receipt of additional disposable gloves.”
U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,293 that issued to McLaughlin teaches “A dispensing apparatus for disposable, thin plastic gloves is disclosed wherein said gloves may be retrieved by the user one at a time in a relatively simple manner. The apparatus comprises a box-like, generally rectangular enclosure for housing a removably mounted packet containing a plurality of the disposable gloves arranged in the packet in closely spaced, planar unfolded condition. The enclosure is provided with a front window or opening and a removable top cover or cap. The packet of gloves is loaded into the enclosure through a top opening and are disposed so that they may be removed, one at a time, through the front opening of the enclosure. The packet comprises a pair of faces yieldably connected to one another which have a configuration generally conforming to the shape of the gloves in an open palm and finger planar condition. The enclosure includes means to support the packet carrying the gloves in a parallel relationship with the gloves being biasly urged toward the front window to conveniently present the outermost glove to the user.”
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 20150374441, that was published by Machado et al., discloses the following: “A glove dispenser has a housing having first and second opposed walls. A glove roll is disposed within the housing for carrying a roll of removable gloves. An electro-mechanical feed mechanism rotates the roll. One or more proximity sensors are positioned within the housing to detect a user's hand and activate rotation of the glove roll. Activators are located on the housing first and second wall which activate the roll to rotate to dispense a glove from the roll. A take-up roll can be provided for receiving roll material after the gloves are dispensed.”
U.S. Published Patent Application Nos. 20150230645, 20150053710 and 20150053709 that were published by Dennison, et al. discloses “A disposable glove dispensing system may allow for a user to efficiently put on a disposable glove without touching the outside of the glove. In various embodiments, a disposable glove may comprise an opening for hand entry having a first opening edge and a second opening edge, a first interconnection point located near the first opening edge, where the first interconnection point attaches the disposable glove to a first adjacent disposable glove, and a second interconnection point located near the second opening edge. The second interconnection point may attach the disposable glove to a second adjacent disposable glove, wherein the disposable glove is positioned between the first adjacent disposable glove and the second adjacent disposable glove. Furthermore, a disposable glove dispensing system may comprise a pack of interconnected disposable gloves, and a glove dispenser comprising two glove hangers for hanging the pack of disposable gloves hang.”
U.S Published Patent Application No. 20120199602 that was published by Jordan discloses “Gloves and dispensers for gloves are generally discussed herein with particular discussions extended to disposable gloves packaged in a disposable dispenser configured to engage with a holder. Aspects of the glove assemblies provided herein include a tray responsive to the number of gloves in the dispenser, movable in a vertical direction within the disposable dispenser towards the dispenser opening with its movement facilitated by a telescoping piston or other biasing members, such as a conical spring. The dispenser may be removed from the holder and a new dispenser engaged to the holder. Aspects of the present disclosure also include a disposable dispenser having a biasing member urging a tray in a vertical direction in response to the number of gloves in the dispenser.”
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 20110062179 that was published by Stollery discloses “The present invention relates to the dispensing of gloves from a dispenser. The dispenser (1) comprises a container (2) and a plurality of disposable gloves (22). The container (2) has a plurality of faces (3, 4, 5), and each glove (22) has a cuff portion (36) and a finger portion (34), the cuff portion having a cuff (40) and the gloves being stacked one on another with the cuffs of the gloves being aligned on one side (42) of the stack (20) of gloves held within the container (2). The container (2) has in use a dispensing aperture (24) in at least one face (3, 5) of the container through which gloves (22) can be dispensed. The gloves (22) are oriented in the container (2) so that the gloves are positioned for dispensing cuff-first through the aperture (24), and the finger portion (34) of each glove (22) is folded back against the cuff portion (36) of the same glove to protect the finger portion from user contact and contamination during dispensing of the glove. The cuff portion has a cuff opening for receiving a user's hand, the cuff opening facing outwards with respect to the dispensing aperture.”
However, these solutions still do not solve all of the problems associated with a safe method for dispensing protective gloves without contaminating the protective gloves. Thus, it is desirable to solve some of the problems associated with protective glove dispensers.